Method of making soles.



A. E. JOHNSON.

METHOD OF MAKING SOLES.

APPLICATION FILED on. 7. 1915.

1,200,1 15. Patented Oct. 3,1916.-

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

A. "E. JOHNSON.

METHOD OF MAKING SOLES. APPLICATION FILED OCT/7. I915. 1,290,115. Patented Oct. 3,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

I .Izvefitor M UNI sin

ALBERT E. JOHNSON, OF BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR 'IO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

METHOD OF MAKING SOLES.

Patented (lot. 3, 1916.

Original application filed January 5, 1912, Serial No. 669,568 Divided and this application filed October 7,

1915. Serial No. 54,584.

I of makin soles and more particularly to a method of making shouldered outsoles which are used in the manufacture of turned shoes, although the method is equally well adapted for making shouldered insoles.

The turn sole produced by the above method has been described and claimed in my co-pending application Serial No. 669,- 568, filed January 5, 1912, of which this application forms a division.

It has been customary heretofore to make a turn sole from a sole shaped blank by providing it with a marginal channel as in the making of a welt insole and with a parallel shoulder outside of the channel. The channeling and shouldering operations are usu ally performed simultaneously by means of two knives fitted in one machine. The shouldering knife is provided with a horizontal cutting portion which splits the edge of the sole a predetermined distancefrom its grain side, and with a vertical cutting portion which forms the shoulder byseparating the string from the body portion of the sole. The edge of the sole thus produced is thinner than the body portion of the sole,'within the shoulder cut, by the depth of the shoulder. This shoulder is provided to form a striking surface for the curved needle used in sewing the upper to the sole which penetrates the body portion of the sole from the base of the shoulder to the channel. This narrow strip of stock between the shoulder and the channel is called by those skilled in the art the between substance. In actual practice it is found that the depth of the shoulder has considerable bearing upon the effectiveness of the sewing operation. A deep shoulder provides a ,sub stantial striking surface for the needle and forms a clearly defined line to draw the .upper into, thus giving a tight seam.

deep shoulder, however, in the usual type of turn sole, can only be obtained by using a body portion which is comparatively thick so that when the string is removed the marglnal portion will have suflicient stock to furnish the necessary wear and provide a substantial edge thickness. As the length of wear of a turned shoe is determined by the thickness of the marginal portion of the sole beneath the cuts, the extra thickness of the central portion of the body of the sole adds materially to the cost of the sole without increasing the wearing qualities of the shoe. This method of making turn soles is wasteful of the expensive leather stock.

One object of the present invention is to' provide a method of making turned soles by which a sole having a strong, substantial rib for recelving the inseam stitches, and a thick wearing section, can be produced from thinner shoe stock than has been possible with the methods heretoforeemployed.

With this object in view a feature of the as deep as the depth of penetration of the qualities of the marginal portion of the sole.

Broadly considered the lip may be formed in the body portion of the sole in any manner found desirable or expedient. In order, however, to preserve the thickness of the sole edge the lip preferably is cut in the same face of the sole as the flap. This manner of forming the lip forms an important feature of applicants invention. A turn sole having a substantial striking shoulder and an unreduced sole edge is particularly valuable for use in the manufacture of light soled turned footwear, such, for instance, as slippers. The soles of such footwear are often made from comparatively thin stock. Hfiretofore in the manu:

facture of this type of turned footwear, it has been necessary to employ an excessively thick body portion for the sole so that a striking shoulder of sufficient depth could be produced on the margin and sufficient material preserved to provide the desired thickness for the sole edge. The turn sole of the present invention is provided with a striking shoulder which is formed Without substantial effect on the thickness of the sole edge and, therefore by the use of the present invention, much thinner stock than heretofore used may be used for turn soles in slippers and similar work.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method of making reinforced turned soles by which comparatively thin stock can be employed for making soles having a strong rib for receiving the inseam and a thick wearing section.

In accordance with this object, another feature of the invention contemplates the provision of a. method comprising cutting a comparatively thin channel flap and a shoulder lip along the margin of a sole, molding the lip over upon the between substance to build up a striking shoulder, and reinforcing the face of the sole and the flap. As is well known to those skilled in the art, there is an important economic advantage in reinforcing leather parts used in the manufacture of leather shoes as by this means thin or poor stock, not ordinarily available, may advantageously be utilized. A turn sole provided with a marginal flap and a shoulder on one face, may be advantageously reinforced so as to permit the use of thin or poor stock. of reinforcing fabric is applied after the sole has been molded and dried, for, as will readily occur to those skilled in the art, if applied before the molding operation, the subsequent tempering of the reinforced sole would be objectionable.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the best form of the invention at pres ent devised, Figure l is a plan of the channeled blank; Fig. 2 is a plan of the molded blank; Fig. 8 is a transverse section on line 3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a transverse section on line 1 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective showing the preferred manner in which the blank is channeled; Fig. 6 shows one way in which the channeled blank may be molded; and Fig. 7 shows one way in which the reinforcing material may be applied to the molded blank.

In the illustrated embodiment of the in vention a sole shaped blank 1 from which the turn sole is made is first tempered and is then passed through a channeling machine such as illustrated and described in the United States Letters Patent to William C. Meyer, No. 98%,778, dated February 21,

The sheet the shoulder.

1911, to which patent reference may be had for a full disclosure of the construction and operation of the machine. The channeling of the blank is performed by a channel knife 2, an edge knife 3, set by" a hammer 4E. The edge knife 3 is designed to cut into the blank on a slight angle, to produce a relatively thin lip, eighteen degress having been found effec tive, and is arranged in the machine so that its out is started on the flesh side of the blank just within its edge. The knives thus cut a flap 7 and a hp 6 both on the same face of the blank without reducing the edge thickness.

In the manufacture of turn shoes the up per is attached directly in the shoulder formed on the outsole. To give a well defined shape to the upper it is necessary that the shoulder have a definite depth. The depth of this shoulder is controlled by the character of the material of the sole and by the thickness of the upper material. A sole made of soft leather requires a distinctly higher shoulder than with a firm, rigid leather. With heavy turn soles the shoulder is sometimes ofan inch high, and for ordinary work will average about of an inch. For the firmest leather, the minimum depth of a shoulder, which will receive the needle and into which the seam may drau the upper, is about of an inch. The lip and channel, which are cut in applicants sole, are substantially one-half the thickness of the depth of the regular type of shoulder, and, in some cases, a lip of of an inch can be molded into shape to give a suitable striking shoulder. For the purpose of convenience, a shoulder on soles for mens and womens work having an average depth of of an inch, with a minimum depth of of an inch, will be hereinafter termed a regular shoulder.

The lip 6 is so thin that if it were removed or turned up to form a shoulder, the shoulder would not be high enough to support a seam and give a backing suflicient to allow the seam to draw the upper down into- VVith such a shallow shoulder the seam is visible when the upper is turned right side out and any strain on the seam tends to pull it out of the between substance. To use the lip in building up a strong, rigid backing shoulder the marginal portion of the channeled sole is next passed through a molding machine. This machine is provided with a set of coiiperating molding rolls comprising a sole supporting and bending roll 5, a flap setting roll 8, an edge and lip molding roll 9. The roll 9 is provided with edge molding faces and lip fold ing faces indicated at 10 and 11 respectively. The outer end of the roll 9 has teeth formed upon its periphery which engage the edge of the sole and aid in feeding the sole and the flap is through the machine. The edge molding and lip folding faces of the roll 9 are arranged to engage the feather of the sole and the lip to form a vertical striking shoulder y from the material of the lip, and fold the upper portion of the lip permanently over upon the between substance 12. The roll 9 alsp supports the flap while it 'is set by the rol 8.

Referring now to Fig. 4 it is seen that the striking shoulder 13 is formed by folding over upon, and into contact with the between substance the material cut from the marginal portion of the sole. The depth of the striking shoulder 13 is substantially twice the depth of penetration of the lip forming knife or the material displaced from the marginal portion. By this con- 'struction the striking shoulder is formed without seriously weakening the marginal portion of the sole. As it is not necessary to employ an excessively thick body portion for the sole an important economy in the use of stock is effected.

As is well known to those skilled in the art, the use of thin leather stock in the manufacture of insoles for boots and shoes has been made possible by reinforcement of the stock with a textile fabric, The economicadvantage of reinforcing insoles is well known. Heretofore, owing to the wasteful method of manufacture, it was not possible to employ thin stock for turn soles and reinforce the stock with a textile fabric. The turn sole of the present invention being substantially uniform in thickness may be made from thin or poor stock not ordinarily available for use in turn soles and the sole brought to the necessary strength by a sheet of reinforcing fabric.

After the blank is molded and dried a sheet of sticky reinforcing fabric may be roughly applied to the face of the blank. The blank and sheet are then passed through a reinforcing machine suitably designed to preserve the molded shape of the sole. In its preferred form this machine is provided with sole supporting rolls" 14 and 15, a reinforcing or fabric setting roll 16, a fabric trimming knife 17, and a knife guard 18. The roll 15 is provided with suitable faces to engage the feather and the folded lip and also with a rounded face 19 cooperating with the reinforcing roll to mold or bend the flap inward at an inclination to the surface of the sole. The reinforcing roll is shaped to set the fabric against the surface of the sole well down into the channel angle and up the inner face of the inwardly bent flap. The reinforcing-material on the inner surface of the flap 7 and in the angle of the flap with the face of the sole, materially strengthens the seam receiving rib and therefore it is not necessary to out a thick channel flap. The knife 17 00- operates with the edge 20 of the roll 15 to shear off the portion of the fabric extending above the upper edge of the flap. A toothed disk 21 may also be provided which acts as a fabric clearer.

In the molding operations as illustrated inFigs. 6 and 7 the between substance 12 is compressed between faces on the-rolls 8 and 9 and the rolls 15 and 16 respectively. The material of the sole is also compressed between the channel and sole edge by faces on the rolls 8 and 9 and the rolls 15 and 16 respectively. To facilitate feeding the faces of the rolls 9 and 15 in contact with the feather may be milled in the same way as the faces in contact with the sole edge.

What is claimed as new is:

1. The method of making turn soles comprising, cutting a flap and lip from the face of the sole, which have a thickness substantially less than the depth of a regular shoulder, and molding the sole to permanently fold and set the lip down into contact with the between substance and offset the edge of the sole from its body.

2. The method of making turn soles comprising, cutting a flap and lip from the face of the sole, which have a thickness substan tially less than the depth of a regular shoulder, and molding the sole to permanently fold and set the lip down into contact with the between substance and offset the edge of the sole from its body while compressing the sole between the channel and the sole'edge and shoulder.

3. The method of making turn soles comprising, tempering the sole, cutting a channel flap and a lip along the margin of the sole, molding the sole to permanently fold and set the lip back against the between substance to form a shoulder, and then applying a sheet of reinforcing fabric to the face of the sole and flap while maintaining the molded shape of the sole.

4. The method of making turn soles consisting, in tempering the sole, cutting a channel flap and relatively thin lip from the face of the sole near its margin without reducing the edge, molding the sole to offset the edge and to lay the lip back against the face of the sole, and then applying a reinforcing material on the face of the sole and inner side of the flap while maintaining. the molded shape of the sole.

5. The method of making turn soles comprising, cutting a channel flap and a shoulder lip of substantially less thickness than the depth of a regular shoulder, molding the lip over upon itself to build up and form a rigid'shoulder of regular depth, and reinforcing the channel and flap to strengthen the seam receiving rib.

.6. The method of making turn soles comprising, cutting a channel flap and shoulder lip of substant ally less thi k s than is necessary to form a shoulder having a face high enough to enable the seam to draw an upper securely into it, molding and setting the lip over upon the between substance to build up and form a rigid shoulder of sufficient height to support a seam, and offsetting the feather of the sole While compressing the between substance.

7. The method of making turn soles comprising, cutting a channel flap and shoulder lip having a thickness of substantially onehalf theheight of a regular shoulder, molding and setting the lip on the between substance, and offsetting the feather simultaneously While compressing the between substance and the feather to build up and form a rigid shoulder and prepare the sole for the lasting operation.

ALBERT E. JOHNSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. 

